Royce Poore named Daily Express Boys Player of the Year

Friday

Apr 4, 2014 at 10:35 AM

Paul Halfacre Sports Editor @phalfacre_kde

KIRKSVILLE – To rebuild a successful program you need a coach with a clear vision and clear goals. You need support from the community and the backing of the school. You will also need the athletes to buy into the program whole-heartedly.

But having a special athlete in the system can expedite that process.

Knox County’s Royce Poore not only gave the stats but he also helped resurrect an Eagles program that had lost its way. All of this contributed to him being named the All-Express Player of the Year.

“It’s a great honor to be named Player of the Year,” Royce Poore said. “I’m very appreciated of being selected out of all the candidates.”

Poore filled up the stat sheet on a daily occurrence as he totaled 20.1 points a game and grabbed 5.1 rebounds a game while dishing out 2.6 assists a game. He was also the lynch pin in the Knox County’s “Havoc” defense as he grabbed 2.5 steals per game.

“He was able to be a very good scorer against really good teams this year,” Knox County head coach Zach Summers said. “The biggest thing was that he was able to take games over and I think that’s why we won games this year that we did win.”

When the Eagles put together one of the tougher schedules in the region, some may have had their doubts after a .500 record the year before.

But Poore had the answers when Knox County faltered. He would carry a team when they needed it offensively or he would be the facilitator when others on the team had the hot hand and that helped his team to a district title appearance against Cairo.

“It shows that hard work does pay off,” Poore said. “I thought we had a really great season all my teammates put in a lot of hard work and I wouldn’t have gotten half the points and the looks I got without my teammates.”

In the district title game Knox County’s tough schedule paid off as they squared off against a tough Cairo team. The Bearcats couldn’t put the Eagles team away and midway through the fourth quarter, Knox County pushed the mighty Cairo to the brink.

The charging Eagles were led by Poore and company and came close to knocking Cairo off but ultimately would fall in the title game.

“For me to come in as a first-year coach three years ago, to coach a guy like Poore has made my job a lot easier,” Summers said. “You can do a lot with a gifted kid like him.”

Poore leaves Knox County after setting a number of records: single season three-point makes with 62; career three-point record with 156 and career free throw record with 329.

Poore finished with 1,700 points, only nine points short of the school’s career record and has left a foundation for the Knox County program to continue to build from.